


Never enough

by Arienhod



Series: Plot bunny farm [7]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: AU, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-12
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-19 23:26:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5984320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arienhod/pseuds/Arienhod
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity's jaw almost hit the floor after the words left Oliver's mouth. He was actually doing it. He was going to Laurel to be her partner during a heat cycle.<br/>She wasn't stupid. She knew Oliver only saw her as an asset to his company and his nighttime activity, not as a attractive woman.<br/>And certainly not as an Omega.<br/>Yet, she loved him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Felicity's jaw almost hit the floor after the words left Oliver's mouth. When his phone ringed she expected pretty much anything apart from Laurel Lance calling him cause she needed his help.

Alright, that's not completely true. Miss Lance requested Oliver's help before, only she didn't know it was Oliver. She didn't know he was the one hiding behind the green hood and a mask. But this time it was different.

This time she needed help with something far more personal than a bad guy who evaded the police.

"Are you actually considering it?" Felicity asked when Oliver disconnected the call, "Seriously?"

He sighed, "She asked me to help her."

"You make it sound like she asked you to help her move a couch!" she was agitated, and it was obvious by her voice.

"Felicity." usually when he said her name butterflies would throw a party in her stomach, now all she felt was a knot that was getting tighter and tighter.

"First she hates you, then she tolerates you... they you sleep together and not talk for months afterward, mostly due to you leaving town, but still... let's not forget last month when she called you a monster..."

"Felicity, she was talking about Arrow."

"And now she wants you to... what? Be her partner during the heat cycle?" the blonde woman stood up from the office chair and started to pace around the open area of the lair, "And you are actually considering doing it!"

"I'm not considering it." Oliver said, and Felicity sighed in relief. Up until he corrected that statement, "I'm doing it."

And with those words Oliver grabbed his jacket and turned to leave. Omega hear cycle lasted for 24 hours, and he needed to be at Laurel's apartment soon. He ignored Felicity's mutterings, her calling him several rather colorful names, and left the basement of Verdant.

He wasn't aware that the moment the doors closed, and the electronic lock signaled they were locked, Felicity dropped to the floor as the first sob shook her body.

She loved him, and he didn't want anything to do with her, and hid it behind the excuse he wanted to keep her safe. But she wasn't stupid. She knew Oliver only saw her as an asset to his company and his nighttime activity, not as a attractive woman.

And certainly not as an Omega.

* * *

John Diggle stepped out of the elevator on the executive floor and stopped mid-step after noticing the lack of smiling blonde woman behind the glass desk. He shrugged, thinking she was in Oliver's office, but few moments later he noticed that room was empty as well.

His first thought was that those two finally decided to do something about all the sexual tension that surrounded them every single day. But then he remembered that Oliver tends to be a bit thick, and hide his affection for Felicity behind a facade of caring for her as only a friend.

"Answer damnit." he muttered after Oliver's phone ringed several times, and then sighed when the call went to voicemail.

He had more luck with Felicity, who answered after the third ring, but from the sound of her voice it was obvious something was wrong. So he just told her he'll be at her place in twenty and disconnected, before she tried to persuade him that everything was alright when it was clear it wasn't.

The Felicity that opened the front door of her little apartment wasn't the Felicity he was used to seeing every single day for the past year and a half. She was dressed in a colorful pajama bottoms and a too large shirt, with a thick dressing gown over it. Her hair was in disarray, and she wasn't wearing a smudge of make-up. And as a bonus her eyes were red.

And Diggle wasn't sure if it was because she was sick, or because she was crying.

"You really shouldn't have come. I'm okay." she mumbled, but let him inside.

"I was worried when you didn't show up at work." he explained and was startled when Felicity suddenly turned to look at him.

"Is Oliver at work?" there was something in her voice that he couldn't recognize. A mixture of curiosity, anxiousness and hope.

"No." Dig said slowly, and watched her face for reaction to that information. When her expression fell he knew there was something going on, something he wasn't privy of.

"Oh." was all that escaped Felicity's lips before she started to move again. She completely ignored the living room, and instead went back to her bedroom where she was lying under a mountain of blankets since she woke up earlier that morning. She just didn't have the energy to get dressed and go to work today.

And she saw no point to do it anyway. She only needed her tablet to clear Oliver's schedule for today, and that particular piece of technology was on her nightstand.

"What's going on? Do you know where he is? Cause I called him and got voicemail."when instead of answering the blonde woman just climbed on her bed, and buried herself under what looked like six different blankets, he got really concerned, but this time for her, "Are you sick?"

Felicity shook her head, and burrowed deeper under the blankets. It was a sight Diggle hoped he'll never see. She wasn't sick, but something happened that devastated her. And from the way she was squinting it was obvious she had a headache, one he suspected was caused by crying.

Being a concerned friend he went to her bathroom and searched for a bottle of Aspirin in her medicine cabinet. But instead of a painkiller he was looking for he found a suppressant that was preventing the certain glands from producing hormones that cause heat cycles and are generally responsible for the specific scent Omegas have.

Completely forgetting his intention to get Felicity an Aspirin he walked out of the bathroom with a small bottle in his hand. A bottle she instantly noticed in his hand.

"I wish you haven't found that." she mumbled instantly and he took a seat on the edge of her bed, "I don't want anyone to know."

"Why not? It's not the end of the world, being an Omega." Diggle pointed out.

"When you want a higher education it is." Felicity spit out and sat up suddenly, throwing the blankets off from herself.

"Omega's go to college, Felicity. Just look at Laurel Lance."

The mention of the brunette was like a slap. Felicity's face twisted into a grimace and few tears escaped her eyes. Instantly Diggle was by her side and pulling her into a tight hug. He was whispering that it's alright in her ear, and apologizing for whatever it was he said that made her upset.

"Do you want to know where Oliver is?" she asked, and didn't even wait for his answer when she informed him, "He's with. Laurel. She called him last night. Her hear cycle started and she called him to _assist_ her."

"What?" Diggle wasn't sure if he heard her correctly.

"The gorgeous Laurel... " Felicity mumbled, "She got the permission from her father to go to college, to finish law school. I had to hide who I am, because my father abandoned my mom and me when I was six. My mom's permission wasn't enough, she's female. It needed to come from my dad. And he wasn't there to grant me the right to follow my dream."

"So you started to use suppressants." Dig concluded.

He knew how the society functioned. Alphas were allowed all freedoms, Betas were mostly left alone, and Omegas were seen as only needed to produce children. In the last few centuries they received more rights, but still not the right to college education without the signed permission slip from the father. Something Felicity obviously couldn't obtain.

So she was forced to seek alternative options.

"Even after graduating I had to continue. Omegas are seen as lousy workers due to heat cycles that come three times a year. Despite they only last 24 hours we are seen as unreliable workers by big companies. So to work in QC I had to keep pretending."

"Does Oliver know you are an Omega?" Diggle asked, although he already suspected he knew the answer.

"No."

"Does Oliver know you love him?" he asked his next question and Felicity instantly glared at him.

"What point is there in telling him, Dig? One hint from Laurel that she's interested and he's already in her bed. What chance do I have?"

In the moment John Diggle decided it was time to stop standing aside and let things unravel on their own. It was time to act, to do something, before things went beyond the point of no return.

* * *

Next morning when Oliver walked out of the elevator on the executive floor Felicity was already behind her desk, making final notes for the meeting that was scheduled for later that day. He was late yet again, but this time his EA didn't say anything about it.

Oliver thought it was because she was distracted with her work. He was wrong.

Felicity only raised her eyes from the tablet in front of her once he walked into his office, and then she found herself looking at Diggle who observed her carefully. A quick shook of her head told him not to ask anything right now.

Moments later Oliver walked back to the glass doors of his office and focused on Felicity. When she turned to look at him, to ask him if there was something he needed, he beat her to it, "I need you to make a reservation at Table Salt. Tonight at 8, table for two. Private."

"Of course." she mumbled back, intentionally not asking the question that burned on her tongue.

In the end she didn't have to. Dig did it for her, "Hot date?"

Oliver nodded with a smile, "Dinner with Laurel."

And because he was focused solemnly on his phone, texting Laurel about the dinner reservation, he missed the look his friend sent Felicity. And he also missed the way Felicity's shoulders slumped, and the look of pure resignation on her face before she took a deep breath and moved to sat up straight in her chair.

He missed how the warmth in her eyes turned to ice. And he missed the moment she made a decision she was no longer going to be the prisoner of her hormones, of her affection for him.

He missed it all.

Diggle didn't.

But between the numerous meetings with investors and board members, a dinner date with Laurel that turned to several dates, and too many bad guys on the streets John Diggle didn't have a single private moment of time to talk to his friend and boss.

And boy did they have something to talk about.

So when during yet another late night in the lair, right after Oliver suggested a double date, with Diggle and his ex-wife that he was starting to see again joining him and Laurel later that week, the former military man turned towards the blonde that pretended that she wasn't listening, and that what she was hearing wasn't breaking her heart.

"Why don't you head home Felicity. It's late, even the bad guys went to bed by now." he suggested calmly.

Oliver actually expected her to decline, to say she's going to stay a bit longer and run some searches or upgrade the system like she usually did. But she didn't, in fact she didn't say anything.

Felicity Smoak, the woman who babbled at the most inappropriate times, remained suspiciously quiet as she gathered her jacket and purse. With a quick, "Night." she was out of the lair leaving the two men behind in silence.

And once Oliver managed to tear his gaze away from the back exit through which she left he found himself fact to face with a seriously pissed off John Andrew Diggle.

"What?" he asked in confusion.

Instead of answering Dig threw him a small white bottle that rattled when he caught it. Looking down on the item in his hand Oliver saw it was a regular medicine bottle containing pills. The name on the label meant nothing to him so he once more looked up at his friend, hoping he'll get an explanation this time.

"It's heat cycle suppressant." Diggle explained.

"You are a beta, why do you have this? And why are you giving it to me?"

"You are right, I don't need it. Only Omegas need it. Do you know who is an Omega, Oliver?"

"Laurel." he answered instantly, "But I'm not giving her this. She doesn't need it."

"Of course she doesn't, she has you after all. Laurel Lance calls and you drop everything and run to her rescue, regardless who gets hurt in the process."

Oliver sighed, "Why are you bringing the mission against Deadshot up again?"

"I'm not. I'm just pointing out the pattern. Because there is a pattern in your behavior, Oliver." Dig took a seat on the medical table and tried to calm down. Cause if he got upset tonight he just might strangle the idiot that refused to see what was right in front of him. Or maybe he saw, but didn't give a damn, which was even worse.

"I'm helping out Laurel, so what?"

"Going after a guy that threatened her is helping her. Gathering enough evidence that prevented her innocent client from going to jail is helping her. Screwing her isn't helping her! It's falling back into old habits!"

"I don't have to explain my choices to you, Diggle! You are my friend, not my mother, and I don't justify myself to her either!"

Diggle sighed, this whole thing supposed to be a normal conversation and it turned into a loud argument. One Oliver was ready to bolt from. But he wasn't allowing that, not until the younger man heard exactly what he had to say.

"Do you know who is an Omega?" he repeated the question.

"Laurel." Oliver too repeated what he said previously.

"Felicity." Diggle said shortly and Oliver gaped at him.

"What?"

"Felicity is an Omega, Oliver. One who, unlike Laurel Lance, didn't have a father who would approve her getting higher education so she had to take suppressants and hide. An Omega who knows all sides of you and cares for you despite knowing how much blood there is on your hands, who never refereed to you as a killer or a monster, once more unlike Laurel Lance."

"Look, Dig-"

"An Omega who, considering the phone conversation I overheard while you were on a date with Laurel last night, is planing to go through a surgery that would remove the glands that produce heat cycle hormones and basically become an infertile beta. Do you know why? Because it will be easier for her to have her heart crushed every single day by the Alpha she loves; because at least then she won't have to deal with her Omega hormones every time she is in your vicinity."

"It's not safe... because of the life I lead..."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Diggle said as he got up from the metal table and grabbed his jacket, "You are an Alpha, so the choice which Omega you want to be with is yours and yours alone. I just had to say exactly what I think about your choice."

"You think I'm making a mistake." Oliver concluded.

Dig shook his head, "I think you paid big enough price, in blood and sweat, on that island and don't have to spend the rest of your life paying penance to Laurel Lance for the shitty way you treated her in the past. Because this is what it boils down, isn't it. You feel responsible for the pain you caused her and now you are trying to make things better. And in the process-"

"I'm hurting someone else." Oliver concluded for him.

"Only Felicity isn't Laurel. She isn't going to wait till you are done screwing other girls and remember she's existing. She is cutting you off from her life, and I honestly think the surgery is just the first step."

Oliver quietly watched his friend leave the Foundry, his friend's parting words repeating themselves in his mind.

From what he remembered, from few school classes he actually attended, some Alphas and Omegas were more compatible then the other. The scientist are arguing that it's genetic remain from the past when the scent played a bigger role and there was just one perfect match for an Alpha, something akin to a Soulmate. But the people adapted since then.

Still, there were few cases recorded of an Alpha leaving his family behind because he came across an Omega that smelled so appealing to him he couldn't think about anything else, and the bonds he had with his partner and family meant nothing. It was called the Soulmate syndrome, and it was very rare.

What wasn't rare were Omegas who went through the surgery that removed what made them what they are.

He met once such changed Omega in Hong Kong. Maseo's sister appeared one day, came to visit them, and he saw his new friend look at her sadly. Later he explained how much his sister changed, how different she was from the carefree young woman he remembered her being before the operation. He said it was because of hormonal imbalance, her body was used to having Omega hormones in the system all the time, because some hormones were still produced despite the suppressant. Apparently they only controlled the heat cycle hormone.

The though of Felicity changing, of no longer being the bubbly and babbling woman he knew, he cared about, was frightening.

But did he really have the right to try and change her mind? Oliver took a seat in her desk chair and leaned back. He was torn... between his past and possible future. Between what once was with Laurel, and what could be once more... and the clean slate that was possible future with Felicity.

Diggle was right, he usually is and that's what makes him so annoying sometimes. Laurel had a way of making him feel guilty for the way he treated her, for cheating and for Sara's death. And that is the reason why he was agreeing to whatever she asked of him; from going through a heat cycle with her to going out together several times afterward.

* * *

Oliver glanced through the glass wall towards Felicity's desk for what feels the hundredth time in the past hour. She was quiet during the meeting, something she rarely was. Usually she made at least a few comments, helped him out when the board members asked a question that was way above him.

Today he was left to fend for himself. Needless to say the meeting was a disaster. He just hoped he'll manage to calm them down next week when the next one is scheduled.

With a sigh Oliver stood up and walked to the door, "Felicity..." when she finally looked up he asked, "I was wondering if you had any planed for tonight. If not maybe we could go grab something to eat."

Before she managed to answer the elevator dinged and the doors opened. And Laurel Lance walked out, dressed impeccably in a perfectly tailored suit without a single hair out of place. And the moment she saw Oliver she smiled.

"Just the man I was looking for!"

"Well, he works here." Felicity mumbled under her breath.

And while Laurel didn't hear her, Oliver did. And he glanced in her direction, and noticed the frown she was trying to hide. A kiss on the cheek startled him though, and he turned to look back at Laurel.

"What brings you here?" he asked, genuinely surprised by her presence.

"I need a favor. My mom is back in town for few days, and she is insisting on a family dinner. You already attended a few of those, so you knows how things go." Laurel gave Oliver her best smile, "I need you to come with me, otherwise I just might go crazy."

"Actually, I was going to-"

"Please, Oliver... Sara was the one who usually defused things between my parents before they divorced, but now I need to do it without her... and I don't think I can. So... seven-o-clock? My place? I'll order in, you know I can't cook."

Oliver found himself nodding in agreement before he even realized what he was doing.

Minutes later, after Laurel left to meet a client, he turned to look at Felicity. The blonde was leaning in her chair, watching him closely, he head leaned to the side just like that first time they met. The time when he brought her a bullet ridden laptop and lied to her face. She didn't believe him then.

He was afraid to think what she thought about him now.

"Guess I'll be eating alone today after all." she commented before focusing back on her computer screen, clearly showing him the conversation is over.


	2. Chapter 2

Two weeks later Oliver found himself banging on Felicity's door around midnight. He spent hours gathering courage to go and see her, to explain. But she wasn't opening.

With a curse he moved away from the front door and looked around to see if anyone was around. He didn't want nosy neighbors calling the police on him, because he had a feeling if he did what he planed to do, and the police showed up, Felicity just might claim he broke in. Well, technically that is exactly what he was going to do, but he hoped she'll forgive him for that.

He wasn't sure she'll forgive him for other things.

Tonight was a complete disaster. He agreed to a dinner with Laurel just so he could explain to her he was done letting her guilt trip him into a relationship. He wasn't interested in getting back with her, and that wasn't going to change no matter how much she tried to sway him into getting back together.

He wasn't expecting Felicity to show up at the restaurant picking up take-out just as Laurel giggled at something he said. She didn't notice the audience they got, he did. He noticed Felicity watching them, and even from the distance he saw sadness in her eyes being replaced by anger.

And he was planing to get up and approach her then and there, he really was, but Laurel just placed her hand on his... and the moment his eyes focused back on his former girlfriend was all that was necessary for Felicity to come to a conclusion he and Laurel were back together.

With a final glance around him Oliver carefully moved around the house until he reached the window of Felicity's bathroom. It wasn't latched properly, it never was, and it allowed him easy access to her home.

She must have heard him entering because by the time he entered the living room she was standing in front of her bedroom door. And Oliver's mind glitched.

The blonde was dressed in a colorful kimono style dressing gown, her long hair flowing freely over her shoulder. And her scent... her scent was tantalizing.

"Felicity." he said her name and made a single step forward when she reacted to his presence.

She moved back into her bedroom and slammed the door shut. The soft click told him she also locked them, efficiently cutting him off from her presence. But her scent remained with him, surrounding him.

"Go away!" he heard the shout from behind the closed door. But instead of obeying her wish he approached the wood that separated them.

"Please, let me explain." he practically begged, "It wasn't what it looked like."

"I heard that one before! Just leave, Oliver. Leave me alone."

Oliver leaned his forehead on the cold door, "You are entering a heat cycle."

"Doctor's orders." she responded, instantly confusing him.

"What?"

"I need to go through a heat cycle before I can get the surgery. Stupid doctors and their stupid rules." he barely heard her mutter, "They refuse to do it before, just in case I miraculously find an Alpha and change my mind." a snort followed before she added, "Like I can find one who wants me as I am."

Those words broke Oliver's heart. He hated that she doubted herself. Haven't he showed her plenty of times he cares about her?

With a feeling of deep regret he realized that for every display of affection there was also one that made him look like he was still that dumb kid he was before the island.

"Felicity, you need help." he said seriously.

Instantly the doors opened and he found himself staring at the amused Omega that smelled extremely potent, but without her explicit consent he wasn't even touching her.

"Help. I don't need help, Oliver." she said slowly.

"But the heat-"

"Isn't as violent as you were led to believe. Who told you that, by the way? That the Omega suffers, that the pain of the heat cycle can make her go insane unless there in Alpha that would _help_ her. Cause that is a lie. It's uncomfortable, and we feel itchy, and not in a good way, not that there is a good way to feel itchy, but I meant it literally... as in our skin itches, I didn't mean it in a sexual way having an itch... it's not painful, and it's definitely not something I need _your_ help with. I went through heat on my own before."

"I'm not leaving." Oliver said once she was done babbling. The new information she shared with him were completely different from the things he was told before about the heat. All other Omegas he was with always portrayed it as the worst thing that could happen to them if there was no Alpha in sight.

Felicity just portrayed it as a minor inconvenience that lasts 24 hours.

"Well, have fun playing with yourself in the living room cause you aren't wanted or needed in my bedroom." she said and slammed the door in his face again, only to open it moments later, "When I said _playing with yourself_ I did not mean it as invitation to... you know... while my pheromones scent is in the air. Do not do that."

Oliver took a step back when she closed the door for the final time, the click of the lock told him she was done talking to him. So he did what she said he could do. He went to the living room and took a seat on the colorful couch that matched both Felicity's personality and the rest of the room.

He had a lot to think about.

* * *

Three hours later, in the middle of the night, the bedroom doors opened and Felicity walked out. She was walking towards the kitchen when a movement on her left made her jump in fright and yelp.

"It's just me, Felicity." Oliver said as he turned on the lamp next to the couch.

She gaped at him in shock, "Why are you still here? Does Laurel knows you are still here?"

"Why would she need to know my whereabouts?" he asked, completely confused by the question.

The look Felicity sent him hinted she considered him an idiot, "You've been sleeping with her for weeks now. I'm pretty sure she would want to know if you were _helping_ another Omega."

Oliver shook his head, "I was only with her during the heat cycle, not after it. Those were just dinners."

"I didn't ask that. I asked if she knew you were here."

He sighed, "Why should she? We aren't dating?"

"Are you sure about that? Because from where I stood she definitely thinks you two are dating."

Oliver's eyes widened at her words. He was never seeing their dinners as anything else but a meal between friends, like when he and Dig went to get burgers. But if Laurel saw them as more...

He watched as Felicity walked past the covered plate of food on the counter and took take-out from the fridge. She also grabbed a fork from the drawer and was walking towards the bedroom when his words made her pause.

"I cooked for you."

She didn't even look in his direction when she responded, "I know. You didn't have to. I'm prepared to go through all aspects of the heat cycle on my own."

He could smell the pheromones spiking in the air, the next bout of heat approaching. But Felicity remained by what she said previously. She didn't need him.

* * *

Oliver was late. It wasn't anything unusual, but today he had a big meeting with some investors and he couldn't afford to be late. But unfortunately, because he was out on patrol until late, he overslept. Diggle tried to get him to home sooner, but Oliver knew he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. His mind was racing too fast, his thoughts on Felicity who was just going through the last hours of her heat cycle, and because of that there would be no rest for him that night. And it was true, he only managed to fall asleep a hour before he supposed to get up.

And that is why he was late.

Felicity however wasn't. She was already behind the glass desk of her station when the elevator doors opened and he stepped out on the executive floor.

She didn't even look in his direction. Just pointed out, "You are late. I called, but your phone is turned off."

"I'm aware." he said back, "I overslept."

"Dig didn't showed up on time?" Felicity asked. It wasn't like John Diggle not to show up on time.

"I drove myself." Oliver pointed out, still standing straight in front of her desk and patiently waited for her to look up.

"The files you need for the meeting are on your desk." she nodded in the direction of his office, hoping he'll get the hint and move. He didn't.

Instead he leaned forward and placed both hands on the glass surface of her desk. It got the response he was hoping for, and finally their eyes locked.

"I wanted to stay at your place, but Diggle called to inform me about a robbery."

She nodded in understanding. It made no sense for him to remain in her house the full 24 hours during her heat when she didn't want to share it with him.

But a petty part of her just had to ask, "Would you have left Laurel's place too if there was a robbery while she was in heat?"

Oliver flinched at the question and Felicity just shook her head. She didn't want him to answer, she wasn't interested in the answer. She just wanted him to take the files he needed and go to the meeting he was way too late for.

The elevator dinged down the hallway and Diggle walked till he stood next to Oliver. His dark eyes observed Felicity closely for a moment before he asked seriously, "Do you know the date of the surgery?"

"Are you really going through with it?" Oliver asked before she managed to answer.

"Why shouldn't I? I don't want to spend the rest of my career as your EA, that is not why I went to MIT. But as an Omega I can't progress much. The surgery is the only option if I want to accomplish more."

Dig glanced at Oliver before focusing back at Felicity, "You are aren't getting a surgery because of-"

A serious female voice interrupted his question and made all three of them freeze, "You are an Omega, Miss Smoak?"

Moira Queen stood few steps behind her son, watching curiously as he talked to his EA. The girl was interesting; smart and resourceful. She even had the courage to stand up to Moira, and not many people dared.

"I am." Felicity answered, wondering if she just got herself in trouble. The Queen matriarch was a powerful woman, one you do not wish to have as your enemy, and Felicity was pretty certain the woman hated her for telling Oliver the truth about his sister's parentage.

"I always found Omegas to be more dedicated workers. They are mind-mannered and dedicated. You are wasting your potential as an Executive assistant, Miss Smoak."

"She is helping me tremendously, since I don't know much about how to run a company." Oliver pointed out. He wasn't sure what was going on, any why his mother suddenly acted so nice around Felicity. He knew what happened between the two women, and he didn't expect kindness from his mother towards the woman that refused to obey her wishes.

Moira waived him off, "You can find someone else for that job. Being your EA isn't all that complicated, and as a MIT graduate Miss Smoak is better suited for other position. Like head of IT department."

"Mr. Adams runs IT department." Felicity pointed out, "He has for the past ten years."

"Exactly." Moira responded to her, "I know Walter left him on the position out of respect, but I also know the man is an idiot."

Oliver gaped as his mother used the word 'idiot' in casual conversation. His mother, who was always the poster-child of professionalism just insulted the head of a department.

"I believe he is close to retiring." he finally said, after the shock wore off.

"Well then, push his retirement forward and promote Miss Smoak. Adams is far behind on his knowledge of technology I'm surprised the IT department is still functioning."

"Well, Mr. Adams isn't actually doing anything. He's just delegating assignments." Felicity pointed out and flinched slightly when Moira once more focused on her.

The older woman nodded with a small smile, "And that is why I believe you will be far better running it. And Miss. Smoak, I know it is a personal decision and none of my business, but may I suggest you postpone the surgery for the moment. Prove those fools it is possible to succeed as an Omega."

"Yes, ma'am." Felicity said with a wide smile. She actually would have gladly prove every single Alpha who claimed Omegas were only good for procreating exactly what she was capable of, and how far she can go being herself.

"Now Oliver... you were late for a meeting. Luckily for you I am familiar with Mr. Dibbly and he agreed to invest into Applied Science Division."

She led Oliver into his office and closed the glass door behind them. Felicity and Diggle watched them for a moment longer before she turned towards her friend.

"What just happened?" Felicity half-whispered.

"I think you just got promoted via CEO's mother."

* * *

Oliver let the heavy wooden door of the mansion slam shut behind him. He was tired, both physically and mentally. And he didn't even put on his green suit today. There simply wasn't any time left for that. He had spent hours in Queen Consolidated, going over a way too large pile of files on his desk.

He could swear the paperwork wasn't so big when Felicity was his EA. If he didn't know better Oliver would have believed she did his job for him, faked his signature on the documents.

The startling thought made him pause mid-step. Actually, now that he thought about it, that was exactly what she would have done.

But now Felicity was back in the IT department, running it for the past week. And while he missed her presence, missed having her close and helping him, he couldn't say his mother's idea was a wrong one.

Felicity Smoak deserved that position. She earned it.

"Oliver? Is that you?" Moira stepped in the foyer, "Long day at work?" she asked when she noticed how weary he looked.

"It seemed endless." he responded with a sigh.

"Come on." she led him in the family room and got him to sit on the sofa. When he gave her a weary look, she smiled at him kindly, "I want to talk to you about something. And maybe you want to talk to me about something."

"All I want right now if to forget how annoying my new Executive assistant is. The man is a menace in argyle sweaters of all colors."

"He does wear them a lot." Moira agreed with a laugh, "But he is a very capable young man, and once you go through a backlog of files and are finally on top of the paperwork, he won't seem so difficult."

"I'm not all that behind." Oliver muttered under his breath, but the look his mother gave him clearly showed she wasn't buying it.

"And what is more important, and actually what I wanted to talk to you about, is that you and Miss Smoak getting together won't cause a scandal now that she is no longer your EA."

Oliver instantly sat up straighter, after his mother's words registered in his mind, "Mom, Felicity and I aren't getting together."

"Why not?" Moira asked in her usual tone of voice she used when one of her children action just didn't make any sense.

"We, because-"

"She is smart, attractive, she has a backbone. And with her new position she is quite a catch, as well."

Oliver blinked in confusion at his mother's words. A while ago she practically threatened Felicity, and now she was singing her praises.

"You hate Felicity." he deadpanned.

Moira sighed, "I do not hate that girl. I actually admire her. She showed true strength of character; and while I would have preferred if my secret never came out... her loyalty to you is admirable." a look Oliver didn't recognize appeared on his mother's face and vanished in a heartbeat. There was something else she wanted to say, but she was reluctant for some reason.

"Mom?"

"She reminds me of Rebecca."

"Rebecca Merlyn?" Oliver only vaguely remembered his best friend's mother. She died a long time ago, when they were still kids, and he couldn't really compare the long deceased woman with Felicity. Apparently his mother could.

"Rebecca dreamed of becoming a doctor, of helping people. But she was an Omega, and wasn't allowed... first by her father... and then by Malcolm. Both men believed it wasn't proper or... whichever excuse they used to destroy her biggest dream. So she went in a different direction, and opened a clinic in the Glades. And then she was killed."

"And you see her in Felicity?" Oliver asked with a frown.

"I see a woman who refused to allow her genetic get in the way of her dream. In Miss Smoak's case she took suppressants and lived as a Beta. If she was born in a different time I truly believe Rebecca would have done the same thing."

"She is pretty remarkable." Oliver pointed out with a smile.

"She seems that way, yes. I went to see her in the IT department, and I have to say I already noticed the changes. She is a great leader, and she's running the department effortlessly. Now, back to the subject... you claim you and Miss Smoak aren't getting together."

"Mom-"

"Is it because of Laurel?" Moira interrupted her son's attempt at protesting her questioning him about her personal life. And the small flinch she noticed when she mentioned his ex-girlfriend told her she was heading in the right direction, "I thought you two were over for good."

"We are!" he snapped, and then muttered an apology, before explaining, "But I'm feeling indebted to her because of what I did before, and because of Sara."

"Oh, Oliver. You can not continue living like that, blame yourself for what happened to Sara. Yes, you invited her to come along, which was truly awful from you because you were seeing Laurel at the time, but you did not _force_ her to come. She wasn't a child anymore, Sara was a young woman who made her own decisions. She could have refused, say it's not right to her sister, but she didn't. You are not solemnly responsible for the choices _two_ people made."

"I understand, but Laurel-"

"Laurel needs to understand it too." Moira sighed, "You know I always approved of her, saw her as the perfect candidate for your match. But she is no longer right for you, perhaps she never was and I just didn't see it because back then I didn't know Miss Smoak."

"You think Felicity is right for me?" Oliver asked, surprise obvious in his voice.

His mother nodded with a small smile, "You need someone who would compliment you, someone who challenges you and doesn't back down, but for the right reasons. Laurel is no longer that someone. In an attempt to be a best lawyer possible she became too much like an Alpha. You are now too much alike."

Oliver looked down on the floor. He couldn't remember when was the last time he sat down and had a honest conversation with his mother. If he ever had one. And he had to admit it felt good to just talk to her, hear her opinion and receive advice.

And that is why he decided to be completely honest and admit something he never would have shared with his mother before, although she probably suspected considering what kind of an idiot he was in the past, "Few weeks ago Laurel called me and asked me to help her."

"Was she moving to a new apartment? I haven't heard anything from Quentin." Moira asked honestly, and Oliver shook his head.

"She went into heat, and wanted me to... you know... help her." the words practically burned on his tongue. He couldn't believe he just said that in front of his mother, but he wanted to hear her honest opinion, and for that she needed to know all the important details, "And since that day she keeps insisting on dates almost every other night. And like I said before, it's impossible for me to refuse her because of how I was."

Moira closed her eyes and shook her head, "I an certain there is more to the story, possibly Miss Smoak learning about what you have done, which resulted in the cold front in your friendship."

"When I talked to Felicity about it, about the heat cycle, she said Omega needing _help_ is a lie." Oliver blurted out.

"Since I'm not one, and never went through what they do, I do not know with complete certainty. But from what I was told an Alpha being present during an Omegas heat is more linked to staking a claim on her, like she was his property, than on actually helping her with the discomfort of a heat cycle."

Oliver leaned back on the couch and sighed, "I appreciate the clarification, even though it comes few years too late, and making me feel mortified because I'm talking about it with my mother."

"Well, before the mortification level gets too high and you run away, let me just say one last thing. When you find the one Omega you believe it's the right for you the easiest way to see if she's your perfect match isn't during her heat, it's actually the opposite."

"What do you mean?" Oliver frowned.

A snort was heard and mother and son turned towards the doorway where Thea stood with her hands crossed over her chest, and a wry smile on her face, "Not only are you getting love advice from mom, which by the way is the least cool thing ever... you are also an idiot."

"Hey!" he protested.

"What mom is saying is find the Omega that causes the feeling of euphoria when you are with her, both during heat and without it. It changed meaningless sex into something more."

"Please don't use that word, Thea." Oliver groaned.

"You just talked to mom about feelings and relationships!"

"You're my little sister. I don't want to even acknowledge you... doing that."

Thea grinned, "What? Having sex?"

"Could you not?" Oliver wasn't amused.

Moira was. With a small smile she turned towards her daughter, "Do not tease your brother. I should have had that conversion with him a long time ago, maybe then things would have been different."

Thea shrugged, "Maybe they wouldn't have, since Miss Smoak wasn't in his life back then."

"How long have you been eavesdropping?" Oliver leaned back on the couch and glared at his sister.

"Since... you complained about your new EA. I couldn't help myself, it was fascinating stuff." the youngest Queen teased, "So, what are you going to do to win her over?"

"Whom?" Oliver asked, a bit too fast, and his sister rolled her eyes.

"Help me out here, mom..." Thea whined as she flopped on the couch next to Moira.

The family matriarch smiled kindly at her son, "Your sister is right. If you want a future with Miss Smoak you will have to find a way to win her over. Take her out to dinner, buy her flowers, prove to her you appreciate her as woman, not just an Omega. And whatever you do: do not offer to _help_ her with her heat."

Oliver just nodded silently, before standing up and leaving the room. He had a lot to think about, and possibly get at least tipsy. Because he just discussed his sex life with his mother, and there is no recovering from that.

But at least he got some good advice. And a blessing.

Who would have thought Moira Queen would approve of Felicity Smoak?

* * *

The blonde looked at the container in front of her before looking back up at the man that stood in front of her desk and watched her with a small smile. Once more she looked down and poked the food inside the Tupperware box with a fork.

"You cooked this?" she asked, shock coloring her voice.

"Yes." Oliver answered shortly before turning around and glaring at the man that walked far too slow next to the glass door of Felicity's office. It was more then obvious he wasn't just walking towards the small kitchen nook to get coffee, he was eavesdropping.

"Why?" she had to know.

It wasn't a question that had a simple answer, but Oliver knew he had to try and explain his motives as good as possible if he wanted that last chance.

"Because you don't need me... but I'm hoping you'll want me. You were right, I can't spend the rest of my life paying for the choices I didn't made by myself. But Laurel is pushing, and pushing, and making me feel like I owe her for what happened to Sara."

"Sara could have refused your offer, not go on the Gambit with you." Felicity pointed out.

Oliver nodded. It was funny how everyone he knew said the same thing. Strangely enough Laurel said it too. Said she doesn't blame him for Sara's death, and then dropped her sister's name to pressure him into attending a Lance family dinner.

His phone started to ring before Olive managed to say anything else, and after answering it he only said he was on his way, before disconnecting, "I have to go to a meeting." he informed her, before sighing, "I know I was unreliable before, I know you couldn't count on me to be on time to meetings and conference calls, and made your job as my Executive assistant more difficult that way. I'm working on it, on changing for the better."

"The fact your new EA is walking annoyance in argyle is probably helpful in accomplishing that."

Oliver shook his head, "I'm not doing it because he will call me a hundred times if I'm late, or quote the company rulebook about punctuality and work ethic once I'm in the office. I'm doing it to prove to you that I am someone you can count on to be there for you whenever you may need me."

"I already know that, Oliver." Felicity said with a smile, "You were there when the Count hold me hostage, and when-"

"No, that was the Arrow. Me, Oliver Queen, the Alpha... he is someone who needs to become worthy of you."

"Okay." was all Felicity managed to say before Oliver's phone pinged with a new message alert.

"I have to go."

Just as he turned to get up and leave Felicity reached and touched his hand that still rested on her desk. Instantly she got his full attention and that made her smile for the reason she couldn't explain. It just felt really nice.

"Do you have any plans for tonight... other then your usual plans of putting on tight leather and impaling people with arrows, I mean... Uh... Um... I thought we might grab a dinner together."

A bright smile spread on Oliver's face, and not even another message from his EA managed to wipe it off, as her words registered.

"Is Italian okay? No, wait... I have a better idea... but it would require to reschedule for a few days."

"Okay?" Felicity was watching him closely, "Oh, and Oliver, next time Laurel calls you or shows up-"

"I will kindly inform her there is already an Omega in my life, and she doesn't share what's hers."

* * *

**One year later**

Felicity closed the last drawer and smiled. She was officially finished with moving in into Oliver's, now their, loft. Unofficially she moved in months ago, but back then she still had her small house, and they still haven't put a label on things.

Now they knew exactly where they stood, and to them moving in together was the most obvious next step.

And judging by the small box she saw in the sock drawer Oliver was considering taking the next step. She didn't peek in though, and she won't tell him what she found in the worst hiding place ever. He's entitled to have secrets.

She always figures them out, but he's entitled to them.

"Hey." Oliver's voice made Felicity turn towards the doorway where her boyfriend of seven months stood, "My mom just called. She wants to know if we'll make it to the family lunch this Sunday."

Felicity shook her head, "You can go but my schedule won't allow me."

He sighed, "You are allowed to take a day off from work, you know. Just cause you run the department doesn't mean you need to be there to supervise every little thing."

"Day off from work, yes... day off from heat, no... not unless I go back to suppressants and we did talked about it and-"

"And I finally became worthy of spending a heat cycle with you." Oliver finished for her, and Felicity frowned at how words.

"You were always worthy, just... I wasn't interested in jumping into bed with you right after you were Laurel. Besides we would have spent my previous heat together too, but you got yourself shot and were in the hospital for four days."

Oliver groaned, as he remembered the annoyance he felt during those days. His girlfriend was going into heat, and he was bed bound by a doctor who had absolutely no sympathy for his Alpha side and refused to release him from the hospital early.

"I will never forget my sister's offer to bring me my phone and give me some privacy." he recalled the cheeky grin Thea had on her face. And the worst part was his mother was right there.

"Heat cycle phone sex. Never had that before." Felicity commented with a grin before shrieking as Oliver suddenly picked her up.

"I prefer the real thing, thank you were much." he deadpanned.

Felicity snuggled in closer to him, hid her face in the crook of his neck and inhaled his scent that was as familiar to her as her own. She didn't move, not even when he took a seat at the side of the bed, and placed her in his lap.

"I want to spend my heat with you." she muttered under her breath, but he heard her nevertheless.

"I want that too, Felicity. 24 hours with you, and then more once your heat passes."

His words were what made her finally move from her comfortable position. Their eyes locked as Felicity gave him a curious look, "Do you think you'll have enough stamina for 24 hours and then some more? Don't you think an entire day will be enough for you go get enough of me?"

Oliver shook his head, "Of you? I will never have enough."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done, and now I can finally focus back on 'Burning heart'.   
> Until the next plot bunny attacks.


End file.
